Umayyad dynasty

The Umayyad dynasty (Arabic: بَنُو أُمَيَّةَ) or Umayyads (Arabic: الأمويون) was an Arab clan within the Quraysh tribe who were the ruling family of the Umayyad Caliphate between 661 and 750 and later of Al-Andalus between 756 and 1031. The Islamic Empire reached its largest geographical extent under the Umayyads.[1] Further, Al-Andalus became a centre of science, medicine, philosophy and invention during the Islamic Golden Age.[2][3]

In popular culture

The Umayyads have been the subject of many tales, both factual and fictitious. Umayyad Caliphs are referenced throughout the Arabic collection of 101 Nights (Arabic: مائة ليلة وليلة), also known as The Book with the Story of the 101 Nights, and Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan and his three sons enjoy a similar status in the 101 Nights as that of the Abbasid ruler Harun al-Rashid in the 1,001 Nights.[4]

  1. Nardo, Don (12 September 2011). The Islamic Empire. ISBN 9781420508024.
  2. Simon Barton (30 June 2009). A History of Spain. Macmillan International Higher Education. pp. 44–5. ISBN 978-1-137-01347-7.[dead link]
  3. Francis Preston Venable (1894). A Short History of Chemistry. Heath. p. 21.
  4. https://egyptindependent.com/arabian-nights-has-smaller-sibling/